Posts Tagged ‘Vubiquity’

Multi-billion dollar, multi-national Amdocs has signed a definitive agreement to acquire media service provider Vubiquity.

The $224 million cash deal has been approved by both the Boards of Directors of Vubiquity and Amdocs, and is expected to close during the second quarter of FY2018.

Amdocs (NASDAQ: DOX) is a provider customer service software to communications and media customers such as OSS (operational support systems) and BSS (business support systems) systems. This acquisition is a significant expansion into the media industry for Amdocs, who did not have a booth at this past IBC and does not have a booth at this upcoming NAB Show (at the time of this writing).

Amdocs had already started to move deeper into the media technology sector with its September 2016 acquisition of Vindicia, a provider of subscription and payment solutions. Vindicia’s payment solutions support several digital offers such as the BBC & iTV Britbox service and NBA League Pass. Amdocs purchased Vindicia for $90M.

This acquisition is a much further move into the media supply chain. Vubiquity is a managed service provider connecting content owners and publishers with video distributors – both traditional PayTV operators and OTT publishers. In its collateral Vubiquity cites relationships with over 650 premium content producers (film studios, television networks, etc …) and over 1,000 global video distributors (PayTV operators, OTT publishers, etc …).

Vubiquity had raised a total of $237.2 million over four rounds of funding between 2007 and 2012. Current private equity owners include Columbia Capital and The Carlyle Group, whom invested $100 million of new funding as part of the Company’s purchase of SeaChange’s On Demand Group in 2012.

A series of M&A transactions built Vubiquity, beginning with the 2009 merger of Avail Media and TVN Entertainment – subsequently “Avail-TVN.” Avail-TVN rebranded as Vubiquity in early 2013.

Later in 2013, Darcy Antonellis, then Warner Bros. CTO, joined Vubiquity as CEO. Darcy’s notable resume also includes two speaking appearances at Devoncroft’s annual Media Technology Business Summit (see photo on left). At the closing of the transaction Darcy will join Amdcos as head of the Amdocs Media Division.

More recent deals for the DETE (Digital-End-to-End) service from the Warner Bros. Technical Operations and Juice Worldwide, a digital supply chain solution company, further expanded Vubiquity’s portfolio.

The press release announcing the transaction states the “impact of the acquisition on Amdocs’ diluted non-GAAP earnings per share is expected to be neutral in fiscal year 2018, and accretive thereafter.” Since this is a cash transaction, it is difficult to derive any meaningful view on deal multiples from that statement. However, Amdocs offered greater detail during its earnings call with analysts.

Tamar Rapaport-Dagim, CFO Amdocs, indicated an expectation of Vubiquity to contribute “approximately $100 million in the first 12 months after closing.” Ms. Rapaport-Dagim continued, “Vubiquity, as you can understand from the message that we think it will be a neutral impact on EPS in fiscal 2018 it’s coming with a low margin to start with. And we believe we can build it up along the time quite quickly, given both the top-line synergies and the cost structure synergies we see in front as opportunities.”

Using expected revenue contribution as a proxy for annual revenue suggests a deal multiple of 2.2x sales.

The stated level of revenue contribution contrasts with several earlier public data points on Vubiquity’s annual sales. At the time of its rebrand, Management gave public guidance of annual revenue in excess of $250 million. Also, the inc5000 lists Vubiquity’s annual revenue in 2013 at $296.8 million. Some caution is appropriate in concluding revenue has meaningfully decreased since Vubiquity’s business model may have passed thru content licensing revenue. Such mechanisms or accounting treatment could result in materially different statements on revenue, depending on the context of the statement.

All communications by Amdocs cited a view of convergence between communications and media & entertainment. “Investing in the growth engines of tomorrow is a core discipline of Amdocs and we see considerable opportunity resulting from the increased convergence of communications with media and entertainment” stated Eli Gelman, CEO Amdocs.

Mr. Gelman provided further commentary on the rationale during Amdocs earnings call with analysts.

“…we see increasing convergence between traditional wireless and Pay TV distributors, content owners and large OTT players. By acquiring Vubiquity, we believe Amdocs will be uniquely positioned to address the requirements of distributors, content owners and web players as the lines between each become increasingly blurred.

Second, media and entertainment companies like Disney, HBO and Time Warner are reaching out directly to the end users with a direct content-to-consumer business model or what is called D2C direct-to-consumer. This trend requires new systems to support an improved customer experience that we believe Amdocs is well-positioned to provide.”

If you are attending the 2017 NAB Show, and you want to understand the commercial and technical issues that are driving the industry forward, you don’t want to miss the sixth annual Media Technology Summit.

11:00am – 3:00pm, Sunday, April 23, 2017

Las Vegas Convention Center, Room N249

We’ve worked hard to bring together an outstanding line-up of technology and business thought leaders from all parts of the media technology ecosystem, and we are very grateful that this incredible group has agreed to take part in this year’s event and share their experiences with our audience.

The full conference agenda is at the bottom of this post.

This summit is the one place at the NAB Show where C-Level executives from each part of the media ecosystem discuss the commercial issues facing their organizations, and how this has and will impact their technology investment and deployment strategies. Whether you are a media company, technology supplier, finance professional, or industry strategist, if you want to understand the executive perspective on business developments in the media technology sector, we’re sure you will find the conference to be a thought-provoking kickoff to the NAB Show. It’s also a great networking opportunity.

In addition to executive panel discussions, we will also provide an overview of the most up-to-date industry market research and analysis. This includes preliminary findings from the 2017 Devoncroft Partners Big Broadcast Survey, the industry’s definitive demand-side market study, and the 2017 Global Market Valuation Report (GMVR), which is published by IABM DC, a 50-50 joint-venture between Devoncroft Partners and industry trade association IABM.

Whether you are a supplier, buyer, or investor in the media technology sector, you won’t want to miss the fourth annual NAB Show event co-produced by Devoncroft Partners and the organizers of the NAB Show.

Designed to be a thought-provoking kickoff to the 2015 NAB Show, this half-day conference examines the “the business of the media business” from the perspective of all levels of the media value chain. It includes panel discussions featuring C-level executives from leading broadcasters, service providers, technology vendors, and private equity investors. Each group will offer a candid assessment of how their respective business models, operational practices, and strategic decision making have been impacted by the dramatic shift in media industry economics.

The keynote, “The Future of TV. One Man’s Opinion.” will be delivered by Bob Bowman, President, Business & Media of Major League Baseball (MLB), who oversees MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) and MLB Network.

MLBAM has been involved with several recent high-profile streaming events including WrestleMania 31, the opening day of Major League Baseball, the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament, and the recent launch of HBO Now. Bowman is scheduled to take the stage just one hour before the highly anticipated season 5 premiere of “Game of Thrones” becomes available via HBO Now.

The conference will also include presentations of the latest market research on industry trends and financial performance. This includes preliminary excerpts from the Devoncroft Big Broadcast Survey, the industry’s definitive demand-side study of the broadcast and digital media industry; and the 2015 IABM DC Global Market Valuation Report, the industry’s definitive supply-side market sizing report.

In advance of the NAB Show, Devoncroft Partners has published an analysis of the trends and strategic drivers in the broadcast and media technology sector. This report is available to download here (registration required).

This conference is intended for senior executives from technology vendors, end-users, and investment firms in the media technology sector. It provides an excellent opportunity to network with industry executives and the financial community ahead of NAB show commitments.

Approximately 400 executives attended this standing-room only event in 2014. We hope to see you there on Sunday April 12, 2015.

Please note that because this event is part the 2015 NAB Show Media, Finance and Investor Conference, registration is required.

An overview of the conference is included below. Full details are available on the NAB Show website.

Shifting Media Economics: Impact on Strategy, Finance, and Technology

1:40pm – Welcome and Introductions
Presenter:

Peter White, CEO IABM

1:50pm – Review of Market Developments

Josh Stinehour of Devoncroft will take the podium for his annual (enthusiastic) presentation on developments in the media technology sector. If you have any final announcements you would like Josh to consider for his presentation, let him know.

Presenter:

Joshua Stinehour, Principal Analyst Devoncroft Partners

2:15pm – The Broadcast & Media Technology Industry in 2015

Devoncroft founder Joe Zaller will present a data-driven overview of the forces bringing dynamic change to the media technology sector in 2015. This will include preliminary results of the 2015 Big Broadcast Survey, the industry’s most comprehensive demand-side study, and observations from the 2015 IABM DC Global Market Valuation Report, the industry’s definitive supply-side market sizing report.

Presenter:

Joe Zaller, President Devoncroft Partners

2:40pm – Business Strategy Perspectives from Industry Executives

CEOs from four of the media and broadcast industry’s largest technology suppliers will debate the most important commercial issues facing the industry, and discuss their strategies to position their companies for success in a rapidly evolving marketplace. The panelists will also offer opinions on how changes in the business environment are impacting vendors and customers.

Senior technology executives from four leading broadcasters will offer informed perspectives on the most significant industry trends affecting technology budgets and the technology purchase decision. The audience will benefit from an emphasis on the business implications of technology decisions to broadcasters.

A panel of executives from leading media service providers will discuss views on both technology developments and deployment considerations for media organizations. Discussion topics will include solutions for multi-platform content delivery, the economics of outsourcing, how service providers can leverage their scale to deliver increased performance and agility, and how next-generation data center architecture may impact the media ecosystem.

A panel of leading investment professionals in the media and entertainment sector will offer the audience the institutional investor’s perspective on the industry. The discussion will include the panelists’ intelligence-gathering plans for the NAB Show, views on the trends that are driving investment dollars in the sector, and a review of the characteristics influencing the evaluation of an investment opportunity in the media technology industry.